The Doctor and the Caregiver
by DaggersOfEmotion
Summary: Originally a oneshot for AshNimbus22510, the story of Emilie and the Doctor soon bloomed into a brilliant short story about love, family, and friendship.


"Are you ever going to stop reading that thing?" the Doctor said, pacing around the TARDIS console, turning whenever he reached me. I was sitting in a chair, my feet propped up on the edge of the console.

"Not if you keep pacing," I flip to the next page. He often did this, pacing whenever I read. He got bored so easily, that man.

"But you could be out there living an adventure, why sit around and read about one instead?" he asks as if I were completely insane. I don't know how his converse could be standing all of it- they should be completely worn out by now.

"I just like to read," I explain for the Nth time, "Doesn't mean I don't like having adventures, it just means I need to rest every once in a while."

"What?" The Doctor exclaims, aghast.

"Not everyone is full of boundless energy like you, Doctor," I restate my previous sentence.

"Who are you?" a woman's voice asks. My eyes shoot up, my attention finally diverted from my novel. A woman in a wedding dress was standing in the middle of the Tardis, golden dust disintegrates into the air around her, as if she had been emitting it. "Where am I?" she demands.

"What the-?" I take my feet down from the console and lean forward with interest.

"What the hell is this place?" she raises her voice, demanding.

"What?!" the Doctor is completely stumped by her sudden appearance. "You can't- I wasn't- It's impossible! Emilie, did you touch anything?"

"No, I didn't- I wouldn't-"

"Tell me where I am. NOW," the woman is commanding and somethign about her makes me want to obey.

"In the TARDIS," I reply, watching the Doctor race around the console, in search for anything out of place.

"How did you get in here?" the Doctor asked.

"Well obviously you kidnapped me! Who's behind this? It's Nerys, isn't it? Oh, this has Nerys written all over it!" she ranted, rigid with rage.

"Why are you in a wedding dress?" I ask, setting my book down to marvel at the strange occurrence. This woman had materialized in the middle of the TARDIS. As far as I knew, it was impossible, and she didn't even know how it happened!

"Why do you think? I was halfway up the aisle! I'm not letting you two loons get in the way of my marriage-" she is marching toward the door, now. I call after her, reaching out, but it is too late. She opens the door and now looking upon the supernova. Her jaw falls open and the anger is gone. I find it safe to approach now that she is no longer about to explode, and stand by her side in the doorway.

"It's a spaceship, the TARDIS. We're in space," I explain calmly, hoping it will rub off on her.

"Are you an alien or something?" she asks in a surprisingly normal tone.

"Well, not me, but the Doctor is," I hook my thumb over my shoulder, "He's the mad man flying this thing."

"Did he kidnap you too?" she asked, looking me up and down.

"No, I travel with him by choice," I say with a smile, "My name is Emilie."

"Donna," she says and smiles a little, but she still holds a look of shock upon her face.

"Well, Donna, I can assure you that the Doctor did not kidnap you. He's a good man."

She turns to the Doctor, "Oi, Space Man! Why the hell am I here?"

He is technobabling to himself about different unlikely causes for Donna's sudden appearance. Consequently, he is unaware that she is addressing him, which is, I assume, why she slaps him.

"What was that for?" he protests innocently.

"GET ME TO THE CHURCH!" She gives him directions and we travel to Chiswick, London. We arrive at the right time, the right planet, but she looks as if we have dropped her off on the opposite end of the solar system. "What kind of Martian are you? You can't even fly your own space ship right! Where do you think i'm getting married? The drug store?"

"Something's wrong with her," the Doctor strokes the side of the TARDIS pensively. He rushes into the TARDIS and over to the console, trying to deduct the reason for the TARDIS' malfunction. "She's... digesting."

"What do you mean, digesting? Like she ate something?" Can a time machine eat? I can't seem to process the thought fully. It's ridiculous.

"Donna, have you had any alien contacts lately? Anything that might have caused this? I can't let you go wandering off, it could be dangerous. I mean, have you..." I look toward the door to see that it is open and Donna is gone. "This bloke you're marrying, are you sure he's human?"

"Doctor!" I shout as I spot her dress flitting around the corner. Although I am light on my feet, the Doctor is much taller than me and reaches her first.

"I just want to get married," Donna suppresses tears as we try to coax her into coming back to the TARDIS with us.

"Why don't you call your family and tell them you're alright?" I suggest, rubbing her back comfortingly.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Haven't you got a mobile?" the Doctor asks. Donna stops and stares at him.

"I'm in a wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets." I can tell she is about to explode on another rant, so I stop her.

"What's his name? Your fiancé," I ask warmly. Just as Donna was good at taking control, I was good at comforting and caring for others.

"Lance," she says dreamily, then, suddenly, snaps out of it. "My wedding is in ten minutes! TAXI!"

I am the smallest, so I slide into the middle and find myself pressed between the Doctor and Donna's poofy white dress.

"Saint Mary's in Chiswick!" Donna instructs the driver.

"You know it'll cost you, double rates today," he responds, pulling away from the curb.

"Oh my god! Have you got any money?" Donna gasps.

"We don't usually carry money on our travels," the Doctor responds. "Do you?"

"Pockets!" she exclaims, gesturing to her dress violently. The taxi screeched to a half and we're practically thrown out by the driver. Donna slams the door shut after, shouting profanities at the driver. She was certainly a feisty one.

"A pay phone!" I point excitedly and we run toward it. The Doctor crosses the street to get money from an ATM. I don't question how, as I know it's unlikely he has a bank account.

"Do you know how to work this thing?" she asks, picking it up as if it is a foreign object to her. For a moment I panic and think the TARDIS really has landed in the wrong time period. "I haven't used one in a while is all."

"Doctor!" I shout across the street and he turns. "We haven't any change for the phone!" He seems to get the message, as he reaches into his pocket and discreetly sends a sonic signal our way. Donna makes a quick call to her mother, but the line is cut.

"Stupid bloody pay phone. I'll just have to borrow money when I get there..." she mumbles, running to the street again. "TAXI!" We get in, but I insist on waiting for the Doctor, who would only be a moment. The driver is wearing a Santa costume. Must be Christmas.

"Emilie!" The Doctor turns and the expression on his face wipes any triumph from mine.

"Something's wrong," I say in a low voice, but before I can do anything else, the taxi driver takes off. I feel a jolt as my head bounces off the headrest. I jiggle at the door handle, but it is locked. I turn on my knees and look out the back window to see the Doctor chasing after us, calling out my name. "Doctor!" I call back to him, willing him to hear me.

"What are you so fussed up about?" Donna asked, "I'm the one late for a wedding! He can meet us at the reception."

"You don't understand, Donna," I say, my face hot with the adrenaline now rushing through my veins. "Don't you think it's strange that the taxi driver hasn't spoken once since we got in? Not about our destination or about his pay?"

"He'll get his money," she dismisses the thought, "driver, to Saint Mary's. Step on it!" She clearly didn't understand the gravity of the situation. Maybe it was better she didn't, as she might burst my eardrums with her yelling. No, she deserved to know. It was her wedding day, after all.

"Listen to me, Donna," I say calmly, "you've seen the TARDIS, you've met an alien, you know that there are things out there you don't understand. I've travelled with the Doctor to far away planets and met dozens of different aliens, and the Doctor kept me safe through it all because I listened to him." I take a breath, "we're in danger, Donna."

"What do you mean, danger?" she asks.

"I mean... our driver isn't human," I say bluntly.

"What? Of course he is-" she pulls down the driver's Santa hood, but instead of a man beneath it, she saw a robot and screamed. "SANTA IS A ROBOT!"

"Don't worry, I'll get us out of here," I comfort her.

"Oh yeah, and how do you plan to do that? The doors and windows are locked!"

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Keep calm and wait for the Doctor."

Not even a minute passed and Donna had reverted to primal survival mode, slapping her hands against the glass and crying for help from other drivers. I know better- the only thing that could save us now was the Doctor. When it came to affairs of other worlds, he was our best bet. Finally, the TARDIS fell from the sky and began to fly next to us on the motorway. The door flies open and the Doctor is standing here, a string connected to the controls pinched between his teeth.

"Open the door!" he yells.

"It's locked!" I shout back. He manages to pull out his sonic screwdriver and unlocks the door. I pull the handle and it flies open, air whipping against my face. I struggle to breathe, the speed of the car causing a sort of vacuum around my lungs.

"Jump!" the Doctor calls, extending a hand toward me. I do not hesitate any longer and leap from the vehicle, launching into him and onto the floor. For a moment, time stops and all there is in the world is the space between our faces I lie on top of him. Then, the doors slam shut behind us and I realize that Donna is still in the car. I hop to my feet and open the door, but the taxi has sped up.

"We're losing them!" I shout, and the Doctor runs to the controls to propel us faster. We catch up to the taxi and I find Donna staring at us, her hands clenched to the sides of the taxi.

"I'm not jumping," she says stubbornly. "I'm in my wedding dress!"

"And you look lovely," I say, exasperated, "Now hurry up!"

She propels herself away from the taxi and comes stumbling into the TARDIS. Her dress is a tangled mess, but is unharmed from the fall. I shut the doors and press my back to them. We're safe.

Donna and I sit on the edge of the roof while the Doctor swats at smoke spilling out of the TARDIS with his jacket.

"Sorry you missed your wedding," I say sympathetically as we look out over the city skyline.

"It's not your fault," she says dismissively.

"You'd better put this on," the Doctor sits next to Donna, presenting what looks like a wedding ring.

"You don't have to rub it in," she glares.

"It's a bio-damper. It'll keep you hidden from the robo-scavengers," he insists, slipping it onto her finger.

"I now pronounce you Doctor and Donna. You may refrain from kissing her for the sake of your life," I say, mimicking the tone of someone hosting a wedding ceremony. I manage to prompt a bit of laughter from both of them and I smile, glad to lighten the mood.

"These robo-scavengers... what do they want with me?" Donna asks.

"Don't know," he says, scanning her with his sonic screwdriver. "You're not special, not powerful, not connected, or clever, or important-"

"Do you ever get the impulse to just punch him in the face?" Donna turns to me.

"What's your job?" I ask, trying to stay productive and prevent a fight.

"I'm a secretary," she says, before turning and yelling "STOP BLEEPING ME!" at the Doctor, who was still scanning her.

"What kind of secretary?" I prompt. She seems to go into a daze as she tells us about her job at HC Clements. It was where she met Lance, her would-be-husband. She was a nobody, but one day he made her a coffee. Lance is head of HR and had no business with her, but he was nice and funny and paid attention to Donna. It all started six months ago, a bit quick to jump into marriage, but she said he insisted. Knowing Donna, I had the inkling that she nagged him into it. "What does HC Clements do?"

"Oh, you know, security systems, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for locksmiths."

"Keys..." the Doctor muses.

"You don't think...?" I look over at him, wondering is he is on the same page. Before he could respond, Donna was off again and out connection was broken.

"...You can explain to everyone, Martian-boy."

"Yeah, i'm not from Mars."

We head back to the TARDIS, which has cooled off significantly, and head for the reception. Donna was bragging about how wonderful it would have been, but the wedding was clearly postponed and everyone would surely be upset when we arrived. However, when we arrive, everyone is dancing, drinking, and laughing. We walk in and I am silent, wondering how Donna will take it all. Her eyes were fixed on a man dancing with a tall slender woman and I came to the conclusion he was her fiancé.

"You had the reception without me?" Donna accuses in disbelief.

"Donna! What happened to you" he asks.

"YOU HAD THE RECEPTION WITHOUT ME?" her voice is loud now, more like the Donna I knew rather than the broken girl she had been only moments ago. There is an awkward pause as everyone in the room becomes aware of her presence.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor! This is Emilie," he says cheerfully.

"Hi..." I say in a mousy voice. Unlike the Doctor, I was able to feel the awkwardness of the situation. I admired that about him, how he was completely oblivious of people's discomfort. Of course, it was also a character flaw and caused trouble between us sometimes.

"It was all paid for, so why not?" the slender woman, whose voice is surprisingly nasally, considering she was so gorgeous.

"Thank you, Nerys," Donna says sarcastically. I instantly make the connection, remembering Donna mentioning her in the TARDIS. She was a sort of rival, I gather. Suddenly, the noise in the room escalates as everyone demands an explanation from Donna about her disappearance. Donna, not having a believable excuse, bursts into tears. The room melts sympathetically, comforting her and dropping all hostile thoughts. She winks at us as she cries over Lance's shoulder and I know that it is all an act. Everyone applauds and the room is once again full of dancing and laughter.

"Care for a dance?" the Doctor asks, seizing the moment. I blush and place my hand in his. He spins me out onto the dance floor and dips me dramatically. I am surprised by this and gasp, but then erupt into laughter as he draws me up and we begin to dance in a more informal manner. He stops suddenly, his eyes fixed over my shoulder.

"Doctor? What is it?" I ask, worried.

"Nothing, be right back," he says. I watch as he goes to borrow a phone from a man at the bar. It is then that I realize he is still the Doctor, he still puts his duties first. I follow suit and go over to the man recording the party for the wedding tape.

"Mind showing me the clip of her disappearance? Everyone is talking about it," I say, playing off the importance of the matter.

"Everyone's talking about it," he gossips, rewinding the tape, "It's going to go viral on the web. The news, even. It'll be all over the telly!" I watch as Donna, beautiful in her veil, disappears halfway down the aisle. She burst into sparkling golden particles and flew off screen, presumably through the ceiling. The golden particles remind me of when Rose looked into the heart of the TARDIS and I know I have a breakthrough.

"Huon particles," the Doctor says, revealing his presence. "That's impossible. They haven't existed for billions of years! So old that..." his eyes are suddenly drawn to Donna, "they can't be hidden by a biodamper..." I run to the window, spotting several Santas marching robotically toward the building.

"Doctor! They're here!" I shout over the music.

"Donna, get away from the tree!" he shouts, herding children from its branches. Something clicks in my mind and I am suddenly all to aware of their plan. I usher the children away from the tree, despite the protests from the guests.

"Why? What the Christmas tree... oh" a woman, Donna's mother from the looks of it, trails off as she observes the bulbous ornaments float away from the tree in some kind of weird dance. The Doctor watches them mistrustfully as they hover above everyone's heads. Everyone chatters excitedly until they start dive-bombing around the room and causing small explosions. Everyone starts screaming and running for cover. I duck behind the DJ stand, the Doctor running after me. I peek out from the side of the table and see that the Santas are lined up across the over side of the room, facing us.

"Oi! Santa! Word of advice: if you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver..." he grabs a microphone and speaks into it, his voice resonating throughout the room, "don't let him near the sound system."

My eyes widen and I plug my ears. At the same time, the Doctor holds his sonic screwdriver next to the amplifiers. A horrible high-pitched screeching sound fills the room and I instantly regret hiding by the speakers.

"Doctor!" I cry out, the pain overwhelming. He stops and runs across the room to the Santas. I take a moment to compose myself, the ringing still the prominent noise I can make out. I am fine, aside from a slight headache and the lingering ringing. No lasting damage.

"With me, Emilie!" the Doctor says, his voice drowning out the ringing as he takes my hand. I run alongside him, never questioning where he was leading me. He is technobabling again and begins scanning the robot helmet in his other hand. His sonic screwdriver is wild, leading his hand until it pointed straight up in the air. "Whoever is controlling it is in the sky... Donna! we've got to go to your office, where this all started." I realize Donna has decided to follow us, Lance at her side. This way, trouble will follow us, which is right where it should be.

When we arrive, the Doctor heads straight for a computer. As he works, he talks to us. He says that HC Clements was brought up by Torchwood, the group behind the battle of Canary Wharf. I remember it all- the Cyberman Invasion, Daleks filling the skies above London. Donna, however, seemed to miss all of them due to hangovers or other spontaneous events. She wasn't catching on.

"Torchwood was destroyed and an alien took over," I explain to her. It was a guess based on the hints the Doctor was giving, plus my own experience. When he doesn't correct me, I know it is true. Not yet proven, but when are aliens not behind strange occurrences? Especially when we're around.

"But what do they want with me?" Donna asks. He stops and gives her his full attention.

"Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy, which is a problem because it hasn't existed since the Dark times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is in the heart of the TARDIS."

"Is that why Donna suddenly appeared inside the TARDIS?" I ask, wanting him to confirm my theory. He nods.

"Say that's the TARDIS," he says, laying out simply for her by holding up a mug to represent the TARDIS. "This," he picks up a pencil, "is you. The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetized and WHAP!" he throws the pencil into the mug. "You were pulled inside the TARDIS."

"I'm a pencil inside a mug?" she asks weakly.

"Yes, you are. Now, is HC Clements working on anything top secret? Any special operations?" he asks.

"How should I know?" Lance says defensively. I raise a brow suspiciously. Why was he acting like we accused him of something? "I'm just in charge of personnel!"

The Doctor must have figured something out, because he heads for the elevator. "There's a basement underneath reception, correct?" It is rhetorical, of course, as he already knows the answer. The Doctor and I walk inside and he examines the controls. "How come there's a button marked 'lower basement'?" he asked, "there's a whole floor that isn't on the building plans. So what's down there, then?"

"Are you telling me there's a secret floor?" Lance asks.

"No. I'm showing you this building's got a secret floor. Coming?"

"But you need a key to reach that floor," Donna protests.

"I don't," the Doctor whips out his sonic screwdriver and sonics the lock. "Right then. Thanks for your help, but we've got it from here. See you later-"

"No chance, Martian. If something happens, I want to make sure you two are nearby to save me," Donna says, stepping inside. "Lance?" she asks pointedly.

"Maybe I should go get the police-" he is tentative, hesitant to enter.

"Inside," she orders. He meekly joins us.

"To honor and obey?" the Doctor asks.

"Tell me about it, mate," he sighs tiredly. I suppress a smile.

"Oi," she protests, ending the conversation.

When we exit the lift, we are in a long dark corridor, dimly lit by an eerie green light. "Where the hell are we?" Donna asks, "do you think Mr. Clements knows about this place?"

"He's probably part of it," the Doctor says absently, his eye caught on three electric scooters- segways, they're called. I am the smallest, so I ride with the Doctor on his. I rest my arms on the handle, my body pressed against his as we trundle down the corridor. Donna takes one look at us and cracks up. I can't help but laugh along with her. I can feel the Doctor laughing behind me and I pray we don't fall off of the scooter we are laughing so hard. Even funnier was Lance's expression as he didn't see what was so funny.

We come to a door for authorized personnel only and abandon our scooters. The Doctor sonics the door, revealing a ladder inside.

"Ladies first," the Doctor offers. I am surprised, as he usually barrels straight into things.

"How can I trust you'll keep your eyes front?" I raise a brow.

"My eyes are always front," he defends, a glint in his eye. He's lying.

"Mine aren't," I say teasingly before climbing up the ladder. The adrenaline rush from being on an adventure always makes me more daring, but I am glad my face is hidden in the shadows. Surely I am blushing after such a bold statement.

I come to the end of the ladder and find I am at the underside of a manhole. I slide the lid to the side and climb out. We are surrounded by light, now, as we are overlooking the Thames Flood barrier. We move along until we are in some sort of laboratory.

"Look at this, Emilie! Particle extrusion!" the Doctor is engrossed by the chemistry equipment.

"What does it do?" Donna asks, looking out of breath from trying to catch up to us. Lance is behind her.

"Oh, brilliant! They've manufactured Huon particles! In case my people got rid of Huons, they unravelled the atomic structure."

"Your people? What company are you from?" Lance asks.

"Oh, i'm freelance," the Doctor says, picking up a test tube full of Huon particles.

"Those are... inside me?" Donna asks. The Doctor turns a knob on the test tube and it begins to glow, as does Donna.

"Oh my God!" she exclaims.

"Because the particles are inert - they need something living to catalyze inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then... HA! The wedding!" The Doctor is mad with enthusiasm.

"Doctor," I warn, seeing the expression on Donna's face. He's going too far.

"You're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle - oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine, WHAM go the endorphins, oh you're cooking! You're like a walking oven!"

"DOCTOR!" I shout, ending his rant instantly.

"What?" he asks me, then notices Donna.

"Are you enjoying this?" Donna is breathing heavily, distressed. The Doctor relaxes, ashamed. "Just tell me- are these particles dangerous? Am I safe?"

"Yes!" the Doctor says, unconvincingly.

"Doctor... if your lot got rid of these particles... why did they do that?"

"Because they were deadly," he says, gentle this time.

"Oh my God..." Donna looks like she's about to break down. I place an arm around her, as if I could hold her together.

"I'll sort this out, Donna. I'll reverse it, whatever it is," the Doctor promises. Suddenly, we are surrounded by crashing noises and my comforting embrace suddenly turns protective, afraid something may hit us.

"Oh, she is beyond saving," a voice says, but it seems to come from nowhere. Everywhere. One of the walls slides upwards to reveal a secret chamber with an enormous round hold in the floor.

"I have waited so long for this!" the voice says, and I see Lance, horrified, flee out the door.

"How far down do you think it goes?" I ask, leaving Donna to peer over the edge and quench my curiosity.

"To the center for the Earth!" the voice responds.

"Seriously?" the Doctor joins me at the side. "What for?"

"Dinosaurs," Donna responds bluntly. We stare at her blankly. "Trying to help!" she resigns, leaving the thinking to us.

"Show yourself! Only a madman talks to thin air- trust me, you don't want to make me mad!" the Doctor calls out.

"Who are you to command me?" the voice says, resonating from the walls.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Prepare your best medicines, doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart!" a giant red beast appears, snarling and growling.

It's a...

It's a...

It's a...

"Spider," I finally finish my thought aloud. My voice is soft, but I feel as though I have screamed the words. My body stiffens out of fear. The Doctor is conversing with the thing. The TARDIS probably translates its language, but I cannot understand a word. I am too paralyzed to focus on anything but those spindly legs and those big black eyes. Bright red- blood red- skin covers the beast, and it is at least twice my height. No, three times. Four? I catch in on a bit of their conversation, picking out only the worst possible word: carnivore.

Suddenly, the spider woman is talking to me, or about me. The Doctor places his hand on my shoulder and looks into my eyes. "What have you done to her?" he demands.

"Her paralysis is not my doing," the spider-woman claims. The Doctor must understand that my irrational fear of spiders applies to the spider-woman, for he releases me from his grasp and confronts the spider-woman.

"You shouldn't even exist! The Racnoss were wiped out way back!"

"Except for me, the Empress of the Racnoss," she hisses.

"But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing. Oi! Look at me, lady, I'm talking!" Donna is commanding the Empress' attention, and I realize why. Lance is inching closer to the Empress, an axe drawn back in his hands. Nothing about his character pointed to courage, and my suspicions were confirmed the moment I saw him approaching danger head-on. He was a traitor.

"The bride is so feisty!" the spider-woman exclaims admirably.

"Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big... thing. But a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! NOW!" she commands, but Lance drops the axe to his side and cackles, the Empress laughing along with him.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor says quietly. I wish I had been able to do something, but either way Donna would have been hurt.

"Sorry for what? Lance, don't be stupid, Get her!"

"God, she's thick," Lance stares pityingly down at Donna. I feel my heart lurch, sympathizing with Donna's pain. "Months I put up with her. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map!"

"I don't understand," Donna says truthfully.

"Every day Lance made you coffee," the Doctor says, "you had to be dosed with liquid particles for six months."

"He was poisoning me?" she says, starting to come to terms with it all. "But we were getting married..."

"I had to, couldn't risk you running off before the process was complete! All those months I had to put up with your yapping. X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me..." He is cold and cruel while Donna is hurt and confused.

"But I love you," Donna says softly, plaintive.

"That's what made it easy," Lance says nastily.

"You're just as much of a monster as her," I spit, glaring up at the pair of them.

"Like you're any different. You'd do the same in order to see the universe!"

"But I never hurt anyone!" I argue, "I would never have travelled with the Doctor if it meant killing!"

"Who is this little physician?" the Empress cuts in.

"Oh, i'm just... homeless. Anyway, what's down there?" the Doctor says, trying to get some answers.

"I think he wants us to talk," Lance says, catching on.

"I think so too," the Empress agrees.

"Well, tough! All we need is Donna!" Lance says.

"Kill the spares!" the Empress orders. I suddenly notice that the room is lined with armed robots. I step backwards until I back into the Doctor.

"Don't hurt them!" Donna shouts.

"It's alright, Donna," the Doctor says.

"Take aim!" the Empress orders. I inhale sharply, waiting for the pain. "FIRE!"

The sound of bullets is distant, now, as the TARDIS materialized around us. The Doctor at at the console and only moments later, we are in a different location. "We need to figure out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this. Emilie - we're going further back than we've ever been before!"

Then he notices why Donna and I are sitting so close- she is crying silent tears, her shoulders shuddering. I have my arm wrapped around her, her head leaning against mine as she weeps.

"We've arrived," the Doctor says gently, standing in front of us. "Want to see?"

"I suppose," Donna sniffs. I coax her to her feet and to the door.

"Emilie Hudson, Donna Noble, welcome to the creation of the Earth!" he flings open the doors onto a spectacular sight. The sun shines through beautiful colored dust and gas clouds, enormous rocks floating around.

"It's beautiful," I breathe. Nothing in any of my books or adventures could match this sight. The Sun is brand new, just beginning to burn.

"The Earth is all around us. One of the rocks, the largest, will start to pull others towards it. All of the dust and gas and elements will be pulled in, piling together until you get the-"

"Earth," Donna finishes.

"The question is, what was that first rock?" the Doctor asks.

"Look!" I point at a star-shaped rock, clearly out of place among the rough boulders.

"The Racnoss..." he whispers. The rocks, the particles of dust and gas, they're all zooming towards the Racnoss as though drawn by a magnetic force. "Oh, they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth... they became the centre of the Earth. The first rock." Suddenly, the TARDIS shudders violently and I am nearly catapulted into space.

"What was that?" I ask as the Doctor pulls me in.

"Trouble," he says, slamming the door shut behind me. The TARDIS is still shuddering violently and I am glad that the Doctor is holding onto my arm, for I would surely fall otherwise.

"What the hell is it doing?" Donna yells over the noise of the TARDIS.

"Remember that little trick I pulled - particles pulling particles. It works in reverse - they're pulling us back!" the Doctor had used the particles to call the TARDIS to us, and now they're using it against us. The Doctor legs go of me and rushes to the console, trying to fight them, but we continue to whirl through the vortex.

"Can't you reverse it or warp beam it or something?" Donna exclaims.

"Backseat driver!" the Doctor shouts, still frantic.

"What if you bump the course? You could divert us a bit-" I suggest.

"The extrapolator! Of course!" the Doctor exclaims, whacking the extrapolator "Hold on!"

"Got a good 200 yards to the right," the Doctor says, emerging into the corridor. "Run!" I let Donna run first and shut the door behind me before bolting after them.

"Run? That's your plan?" Donna says, our of breath and scared.

"I don't know!" the Doctor has stopped at a door and is listening to it through a stethoscope. "I make it up as I go along!"

"Don't worry, he's got a history," I assure her, leaning against the wall.

"I still don't understand," Donna says. "Why did she fill me up with these particles?"

"There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but my people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck." The Doctor explained, focused entirely on the door. Suddenly, Donna disappears from my peripheral vision. I turn, but am too slow in my reaction, for a robot has grabbed me and covered my mouth.

Despite my struggles, the Robot is bigger and stronger than me. Plus, i'm pretty sure i'm going to have at least a dozen bruises tomorrow from trying to fight my way from its grasp. The Doctor didn't notice we disappeared- not fast enough, anyway. The robots have taken Donna and I back to the Empress, who had us tied up in the web on the ceiling. At least Lance was tied up with us. Serves him right.

The Empress activated the particles, causing Donna and Lance to glow again. "And release!" she shouts. The living Huon particles extract themselves from their bodies, zooming down into the hole in the ground. The other Racnoss will now be revived and soon the room will be filled with thousands of carnivorous red spiders. "The secret heart unlocks. And they will waken from their sleep of Ages."

"Doctor," I whisper to myself, the nightmare clear in my mind and only moments away. This would be a great time for him to jump in and improvise a way out of this mess.

"What's down there?" Donna asks.

"How thick are you?" Lance exclaims rudely.

"My children, the long lost Racnoss. Now will be born to feast on flesh!" she exclaims. I can hear the spiders crawling up the sides of the tunnel toward us and whimper. "The web-star shall come to me. Perish the web- my babies are hungry."

"Use her, not me! Use them!" Lance begs pathetically.

"Oh my funny little Lance! The Empress does not approve of your rudeness." The web begins to loosen around him.

"Wait!" I shout, but it is too late. Lance is falling.

"LANCE!" Donna cries and I feel a stab of pain. Not for him, but for her, for she still loves him.

"Harvest the humans! Reduce them to meat!" the Empress orders. When we are not killed, I know that she means the citizens of London. She is rounding them up and roasting them like a Christmas ham.

"You can't do this! You can't just invade our planet and use us like fodder!" I protest. Where is the Doctor at a time like this?

"And who's going to stop me?" the Empress challenges.

"Me!" the Doctor appears, holding his sonic screwdriver up at me. "Hold on, Emilie! I've got you!" The web loosens, but instead of falling, I swing over the tunnel. I scream, picturing the string of web snapping and falling into a pit full of Racnoss, but I pass over the tunnel and land in the Doctor's arms. "See? Told you i've got you," he smiles down at me.

"Oi! Quit your flirting and get me down from here!" Donna screeches. The Doctor sonics the web and she swings down, but misses us and hits the wall below. "Thanks for nothing."

"Oops...sorry..."

I lean over the railing to make sure she's alright, "Donna?" She is sprawled out on her back, but unharmed. The Empress is laughing.

"The doctor-man amuses me," she chuckles.

"Empress of the Racnoss - I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now."

"These men are so funny," the Empress is arrogant, oblivious to the danger she was facing. The Doctor doesn't forgive easily when it comes to genocide.

"What's your answer?" This was him being kind, giving her another chance.

"Think about it, Empress! Don't be foolish!" I advise.

"I'm afraid i'll have to decline," she laughs. She has sealed her fate. "Take aim!" The robots point their guns at us, dozens of them. I inhale sharply.

"Relax," the Doctor says quietly. The robots go limp.

"What-?"

"Guess what i've got, Donna?" the Doctor says, pulling a remote control from his suit pocket, "Pockets."

"How did that fit in there?" I ask.

"Bigger on the inside," he winks.

"The robots are not necessary. My children can feast on Martian flesh."

"Oh, but i'm not from Mars."

"Then where?"

"My home planet is far away and long-since gone, but its name lives on. Gallifrey."

The Empress is suddenly full of anger, "They murdered the Racnoss!"

"I warned you, you did this," the Doctor pulls out a handful of baubles, those red Christmas ornaments from the tree.

"No!" the Empress panics. "Don't! No!"

They surround the Empress, destroying everything in their path. Water rushes through the torrents, one explodes at the Empress' feet and ignites a fire, another crashes into the wall. She wails as water runs into the hole, drowning her children.

"My children!" she cries in grief. My hands fly to my face and I am overwhelmed by pity and horror. The flame is consuming her, the water drowning her children. Soon, they will be gone. All of them. The Racnoss, extinct. She cried hysterically, "My children!"

"Doctor, you can stop now," I choke out. He is watching in silence, water pouring down over us. But the Doctor can't stop- he watches the Racnoss writhe and wail in agony with dark eyes, full of some secret pain- "Doctor," I place a hand on his arm, scared of losing him to that dark place he sometimes goes to. "Please."

"Right, time to get out of here," he snaps back. "Donna, you coming?" She pounds her way up the stairs and we flee up the flights, the cries of the Empress still ringing in my ears. Tears sting at my eyes, regret washing through me. Would she have taken his offer if she knew he was a Time Lord? That his threat was very real? That it would save her children?

Memories flash through me as I remember my own mother, throwing herself in front of my brother and I to protect us from our father's fist. Then, the memory of her finally giving up, and I stepped forward as my brother's protector. I hope they are safe now that I am not there to protect them.

"Emilie," the Doctor is facing me now, holding my face in his palms. I was in my dark place and he is returning the favor.

"I'm alright, Doctor," I assure him with a smile. He is gazing into my eyes searchingly, before deciding I am telling the truth. He moves over to the console and I become aware that we are in the TARDIS. We materialize in front of Donna's house and she steps outside.

"There we go! Told you she'd be alright. She can survive anything," the Doctor pats the TARDIS. "You too, Donna. The particles are gone. You're back to 100%"

"Not really. I've missed my wedding, lost my job, and became a widow all in one day. Sort of."

"I couldn't save him," the Doctor's face falls again.

"He deserved it," Donna says unfeelingly. The Doctor raises his eyebrows.

"No he didn't," I say, "no one deserves to die."

"You're right, he didn't," she says, "Well, better get inside." Through the window, I can see Donna's parents hugging, her mother trembling. Of course, they thought they had lost their daughter.

"You're the best Christmas present they could have," the Doctor says. "Oh no, I forgot, you hate Christmas."

"Yes, I do."

"Even if it snows?" the Doctor tweaks a hidden switch in the TARDIs and a ball of light shoots out of the top, exploding like a firework in the sky into softly falling snow. Donna laughs with delight and I find myself staring in awe at the delicate snowflakes falling from the black night sky.

"I can't believe you did that!" she exclaims.

"Basic atmospheric excitation," he shrugs casually, but he is grinning.

"I suppose you'll be going then," Donna says. "No chance you'll want to stay for Christmas dinner?"

"Sorry, I don't do that sort of thing," the Doctor says.

"Mum always cooks enough for twenty, and my dad would be thrilled if you stayed," Donna says.

"Oh, alright then. You should go in first and warn them, but don't say i'm a Martian," the Doctor says. "I'm just going to make sure the TARDIS is parked properly. Don't want her drifting off into the Middle Ages during supper." He is standing in the doorway, waiting for me to come in before shutting the doors. It is then that I know we are leaving.

As we dematerialize, Donna's voice is shouting "DOCTOR! EMILIE!" He pulls down on the handbrakes.

"Blimey you can shout!" the Doctor pops his head out the door.

"You're not coming back, are you?" Donna asks vulnerably.

"No," the Doctor replies honestly.

"You two are good for each other," Donna says. I flick my eyes up at the Doctor before returning them to Donna. "You both protect each other- when you go too far, the other stops you." Neither of us says anything, we just stare at her. "So... just wanted to make sure neither of you does something to screw that up! Do you promise?"

"I do," I smile at her.

"And you, Doctor?" she raises a brow, and I realize that she was turning the tables on us.

"I do," he replies. Whether he knows what will happen next or not, I do not know.

"I now pronounce you Doctor and Emilie!" she grins mischievously. "You may now kiss the companion."

My face goes red hot and I can't help but look up at the Doctor. He looks at me tenderly, and just as I am about to close my eyes... "You really just going to stand there?" the Doctor is distracted by Donna, who is waiting impatiently. The Doctor shuts the TARDIS door and just when I begin to think it was all an act-

He kisses me.


End file.
